The Flower
by Geri K
Summary: QuiGon comes back to the Temple never to take a Padawan again. But the force and a little boy named ObiWan, have a different plan. This is just a little short story about the joining together of Obi and Qui. My first short story here.


Title: The Flower ( **This is a rewrite with hopefully less grammar errors**)  
Author:Gkilkenny  
Timeframe: JA  
Characters: Little Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon  
Genre: Obi-Angst PG  
**Summary:** A night contemplating his past failures in the Garden opens Qui-Gon's eyes to the future.

**Notes**: All characters from Star Wars belong to George Lucas and hopefully he will let me play with them. I promise not to hurt them much and put them back when I have finished.

Wretchedness, and misery was permanently etched in his heart; it ached so, and it felt so lifeless. He rubbed at the skin around it; it was cold, like his heart was a block of ice, an uninhabited organ that had no right to be beating. It had been a month since that fateful day, when his whole reason for living; his apprentice had glared at him with hateful eyes and renounced his training, and professed his eternal hatred for him.

He had wandered aimlessly around the galaxy, not wanting to return to the Temple. Not wanting to see the pity in his peer's eyes knowing he had failed to carry on the tradition of nurturing a gifted youngling to Knight hood. 'Oh yes' they would say that not all were meant for the life of a Jedi; as it was a difficult path to follow, and it required dedication and a strength born of the force. They would tell him to release his pain and suffering to the force, and strive to achieve serenity and completion by taking on another youngling.

He would not!

He would not allow this pain to go away; he would embrace it and allow it to swallow him up. However he would return to the Temple now it had been long enough to wander, he had a need to sit in the room of a thousand fountains, to wallow in his grief. He knew he shouldn't feel this way; nevertheless there was nothing and no one, which could pull him out of his self exile. There was no bright shining light that could enter by force and warm his heart.

Yet maybe the smells, and sounds of the living force in the gardens, would give him some peace. He would wait until the middle of the night when the entire Temple was sleeping, and he would sit in the corner away from the path away from peering eyes. Hiding from them all, keeping his desolate soul to him self. The lights were still on around the garden. He quietly slipped into the garden, his long brown hair covered by his hood. He made his way past the flowering trees, whose petals struggled to hold onto life as the wind blew, tugging them from their grasp on the branches. Making the flowers float down to join him in between the living and the dead. He was careful not to tread on the petals as they rested on the ground.

He walked past a beautiful blue flowering vine, and noticed the petit blue flowers still hanging blissfully on the vine; not one blue flower had dropped. He was amazed at their strength, and wished he had that sort of strength to whether the storm. He touched one tenderly, not wanting it to fall of the vine, because he knew that once it did it was destined to shrivel up and die just as his heart had done.

He walked past it and moved off into the secluded area behind the bushes, not noticing two beautiful vibrant blue Vine-flowers, gracefully descending to the grassy knoll where he had just been standing. They lay together, nestled as a perfect pair.

He sat down on a bench and removed his hood. Qui-Gon Jinn Master of the force was withering and dying just as the flowers would. He bowed his head and rested it in his hands……..

He was deep in thought when a sound startled him, and he lifted his head. Night was leaving, and the morning sun was just creeping over the garden. Standing not a foot away from him was a child; the sun appeared to encase him. A child, who was not much older than six, was smiling at him.

Qui-Gon was stunned, here was a tiny boy dressed in white pants and a tunic, with no shoes on.The child's hair appeared wet, however then Qui-Gon realised it was shinning in the sunlight; it was a golden colour with streaks of amber intermixed, flowing in slight curls around his face.

"What are you doing here child? You should be in bed?" he whispered quietly to the boy.

"I was waiting for you" the boy uttered.

Qui-Gon didn't answer, thinking the boy had mistaken him for someone else.

"I want to help you! I want to ease your pain…I have been waiting a long time" the boy continued.

"You have me confused with some one else youngling. I do not even know you; you cannot possibly have been waiting for me. I have been away for a month" Qui-Gon stated.

"Yes I know it was so hard to wait. Sometimes I nearly gave up and left. But then I felt it, and I felt your pain, and I knew I couldn't leave, I knew I had to help you heal." The boy confirmed.

"Youngling you are testing my patience. I have no idea what you are talking about, how can you wait for some one for a month if you do not know them, and if you were going to give up waiting for me 'where' were you going to go!" he demanded.

The boy just shrugged his shoulders and looked up.

Qui-Gon was getting frustrated and wanted to be alone with his broken heart, so he looked up as well, however there was nothing but sky, and he snapped. "What are you looking at now child? Look at me, and tell me what is your name?" he asked.

"Obi-Wan" The child answered smiling.

"Well Obi-Wan you cannot help me! I do not want or need your help" he insisted.

"B-but Master, your in pain and I can help you, the force said so!" Obi-Wan blurted out in a hurry.

"Do not call me that! I am not your Master or anyone's! Who put you up to this?" Qui-Gon questioned.

"No one" Obi-Wan said still smiling.

"Fine then, 'Go away' and wipe that smile off your face" Qui-Gon stated.

Obi-Wan stared at Qui-Gon, and then he held out his small hand. Qui-Gon watched the boy's hand open, and in it were two blue vine-flowers.

As the boys hand opened so did the petals of the flowers, and they spread in his hand completely covering it. He was offering them to Qui-Gon.

"How dare you pick those beautiful flowers off the vine, you talk of healing and helping me. Yet you have no regard for the living force in those two flowers, by picking them off the vine you have condemned them to an early death". Qui-Gon was angry now. "You know nothing of pain and suffering, you're just a child, a child who should know that all living beings including flowers have the right to live…Now leave me!" Qui-Gon said as he closed his eyes and rubbed his face. He opened his eyes almost immediately and he was going to chase off this nuisance of a child.

Yet to his amazement the child was gone. He looked around thinking that the boy was hiding, nevertheless he was no where to be found. Qui-Gon turned back to sit down and noticed one blue flower on the bench. He picked it up gently and when he did the force filled him, and told him he was a fool. Qui-Gon was shocked, he looked under the bench expecting to find the other flower there, but it wasn't. The boy had taken one with him.

Qui-Gon sat heavily on the bench and stared at the flower in his hand_.(What just happened?)_ he thought.

He shook his head. _(I must be dreaming,)_ he closed his eyes again and reached for the force. He was stunned when it rebuked him. If he didn't know better he would say the force was infuriated with him.

He heard the sounds of children's laughter, and he looked up to see Ten younglings running down the path with the Crèche Master hot on their heels. He felt a sudden urge to get a closer look at them, and he ran down the path and caught up with them, however none of them was the little boy Obi-Wan.

The Crèche Master asked if she could help him and he replied. "No it is fine"

He continued on down the path and went past the junior's class where the children had been heading. There were two more children sitting inside waiting for the others, and still no little boy who said his name was Obi-Wan.

The other children filed in to the room and then he heard the Crèche Master say. "Good everyone is here"

Qui-Gon walked away a bit confused. (_Maybe it was a dream, and there is no such boy_) he thought. He put the flower in his pocket and decided to get his meeting with the Council over and done with. However unfortunately the Council were in session, and could not be disturbed so they had put Qui-Gon on the agenda for first session after lunch.

He was at a loss of what to do, and he wandered around and went back to the garden. The strange dream about the little boy weighed heavily in his thoughts. As he walked past the flowering vine, he noticed a single flower it floated down and landed in the water. The current took the petal, and Qui-Gon watched as the little blue flower floated further and further away. He abruptly felt dismayed and didn't understand why. (_it was only a flower after all_) he thought.

Nonetheless for some reason as the flower finally disappeared, he felt the force warning him of true failure. Not his own perceived failures of his past, yet a failure that would have dire consequences to him and to some one else. Qui-Gon was now beginning to worry; he needed to talk to someone to find out about a boy named Obi-Wan, and to see if there was such a child. It was the mid day meal time, so he went to the dining hall and sitting in the corner was Yoda and Mace Windu. They appeared to be very deep in discussion. As he got to their table they saw him, and said hello. Then they apologised for cancelling his appointment. They knew he wanted to be relieved of duty, however at the moment they had a terrible situation to contend with that was more urgent than Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon sat down and was about to ask them did they know of an initiate named Obi-Wan.

Abruptly a Healers apprentice came to the table. "Excuse me, Master Yoda, Master Windu, my Master has requested your presence in the Healers ward, she said it was quite imperative that you come quickly." The apprentice explained.

Both Masters stood up, and Qui-Gon wondered what was up; as both Masters looked like they had just lost there best friend. "What is the matter, has someone been injured?" Qui-Gon asked.

"We have an initiate who is gravely ill, he was stung by a wingstinger and the poison has entered his system". Mace answered.

"They are native to the swamps of Drongar, how did an initiate get bitten here on Corruscant?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Apparently some scientists were bringing back a ship load of exotic insects to study. Their speeder crashed just outside the Temple and this bug ended up in our Garden. The initiate was playing with his friends near the Blue flower-vine, when it stung him". Mace informed him.

"What are the effects of the sting?" Qui-Gon asked.

"It causes dehydration and a very high temperature, he has had an allergic reaction to it and he is dying." Mace finally said as they were walking into the healer's wing.

"Is there an antidote?" Qui-Gin questioned as the Healer, Master Shauna came out of the room.

She heard him and answered. "We have been in constant touch with the Scientists, and they are working on one."

"Sense I do that worse he has become" Yoda inquired.

Master Shauna sighed. "I was with him most of the night, and early this morning, he improved. It was like he had decided that he was going to get better. He was delirious, and he spoke of his Master; and how he was going to come here and he would make him better, but then he deteriorated rapidly. That is why I called for you." she stated.

"Just an initiate Obi-Wan is, no Master does he have" Yoda confirmed.

"What did you say his name is?" Qui-Gon said as he looked into the room, but could only see tubes and machines in front of the boy.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi is his name" Mace said.

"Obi-Wan? I saw him early this morning in the garden, he spoke to me. He said he was waiting for me, I sent him on his way " he added.

"Master Jinn it is impossible for you to have seen Obi-Wan in the Garden this morning, he has been bedridden for four weeks." she stated.

"I tell you I spoke to him this morning."

"Say what did he?" Yoda asked.

"He said he knew I was sad and he wanted to help me, and that he had been waiting for me for a month. He said he nearly gave up waiting and was going to leave. I didn't understand what he meant and then he called me Master and he said the force told him to help me. I finally told him to go away and he just stood there holding out his hand, he had two blue flowers from the Dagabah Vine in his hand. I berated him for picking them, and then I closed my eyes for just a moment and when I opened them he was gone. I was surprised and wondered if he was hiding, but I couldn't find him. When I turned back to the bench this flower was on it" Qui-Gon said as he pulled the blue flower out of his pocket.

"Oh my!" Master Shauna stammered. "I just now found this flower in his hand, while I was trying to put a tube in his arm" she said as she also pulled a blue flower from her pocket. "It is impossible that he went out into the Garden I have been with him since midnight, and so were two other healers, plus he is attached to so many tubes. There is no way he could have left his bed"

They entered the room and for the first time Qui-Gon saw the child. "That is him, yet he was chubbier, and had pink cheeks when I saw him." he went up to the bed and little Obi-Wan was very pale and very thin.

Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan's hand and there was a fine blue dust on it. Qui-Gon looked at his own hand, and it was covered in blue dust also. "Master Yoda, these flowers do they have any healing properties?" he asked.

"Healing properties I know not, yet taste good they do, use them in my stew I have" Yoda hinted.

"What are you thinking Qui-Gon?" the healer asked.

"Look at his hand the skin is pink and healthy looking, whereas the rest of his body is grey and sickly looking"

"You are right Qui-Gon, why didn't I notice that before" she said.

Qui-Gon opened the boy's tunic and placed the flowers he had on the boy's heart, and he placed his hand over the top. The healer yelled orders to the aids to go and bring as many of the blue flowers as they could. She stripped Obi's clothes off and they began to rub the dust from the flowers onto Obi-Wan's hot body,and they packed the bite mark with flowers; and then they waited.

An hour later Obi-Wan's temperature was slowly coming down, and his breathing settled down to an almost normal rhythm, and his colour was improving. Qui-Gon sat down on the chair and pressed his hand over Obi-Wan's heart, and with his other hand he stroked the small boy's forehead. Abruptly Obi-Wan's little hand, came up and plopped down over Qui-Gon's. He watched little eyelids flutter open, and a wide smile stretched across Obi-Wan's face.

"M-Masser, you came back for me, did you bring the flowwer?" he whispered.

Qui-Gon looked into that angelic face, filled with trust and hope and love, and smiled at the flowers all over his Obi-Wan's body.

"Yes my Padawan, my Obi-Wan, I came back for you and I brought the flower."

He pulled Obi-Wan up as far as the tubes would allow and embraced his newest Padawan.

The end


End file.
